Summit 2011

October 10 - 12, 2011

Conference Presenters

Lynne Becker
Principal, eAdvancement Services

Lynne consults and collaborates with organizations as well as individuals providing comprehensive services for fundraising specializing in change management and organizational behavior issues. Experience highlights for Lynne include:

• Involvement with Southern Methodist University in Dallas providing change management services needed for a smooth transition in leadership during a critical time of converting to a new software system.
• Senior Counsel with Advancement Solutions providing consulting to non-profits concerning organizational challenges, change management, and fundraising best practices. Her clients included colleges and universities across North America, foundations affiliated with medical enterprises, and non-profits such as the American Red Cross, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, Arthritis Foundation, YWCA and Girl Scouts of America.
• Served as Kintera’s Vice President and General Manager of the health and social services sector leading a vertical group of services for a variety of clients including foundations, social agencies, and international organizations.
• Worked with the American Red Cross National Headquarters as Director of Development Systems for the organization’s fundraising division. While at the American Red Cross, Lynne played an instrumental role in a 2.5 million record conversion, a system software integration for 990 chapters, and process improvement opportunities through the aftermath of 9/11, four hurricanes, and a tsunami.
• Was a member of the consulting firm of Bentz Whaley Flessner where she assisted higher education institutions and healthcare facilities prepare for major fundraising campaigns or reorganize for optimal efficiencies.
• Served as Assistant Vice President for Advancement Services at the University of Washington and managed a staff that supported development and alumni relations and prepared for a 2 billion dollar campaign.

Ms. Becker has a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Hood College in Frederick, Maryland; a Master of Education in student personnel work in higher education from Loyola University of Chicago; and a Master of Business Administration in higher education administration from the University of Hawaii. She is finishing her doctorate from Vanderbilt University in organizational behavior with an emphasis on change management. Ms. Becker is also the recipient of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Crystal Apple Award for excellence in teaching.

Nancy Benavente
Associate Director, Cedars Sinai Medical Center

Nancy Benavente provides leadership on digital strategies for optimizing engagement through a utilizing social networks and integrating with CRM databases. Her emphasis has been on creating interactive content for use on multiple platforms (web and mobile) and creating integrated media strategies.   Benavente has designed and implemented several on-line giving and community web sites and is adept at leveraging social platforms for fundraising. She initiated the creation of personal fundraising pages and cause related ecosystems at CSMC.

Previously, Benavente worked in higher education at UCLA and UC Davis managing advancement services teams and implementing new technology in support of fundraising. Her professional experience includes providing executive leadership in the areas of digital strategy, online communities, social media, prospect research & management, information technology, donor relations, and donor information systems, as well as oversight of analytical reporting. She has a strong background in creating profitable business strategies for fundraising and engagement. And is a trailblazer identifying, using and leveraging new digital tools. Benavente has managed several fundraising system implementation projects including business intelligence systems. She is a frequent presenter on social media and engagement topics at CASE, CARA and AASP, among others.

She is a graduate of UCLA with a BA in sociology, where she also received an Executive Management Certificate from the Anderson School of Management.

Terry Callaghan

Associate Vice President, Information Technology & Gift and Alumni Records, Rutgers University Foundation. 

 

As a member of the Foundation senior staff, Terry provides strategic system implementation and advancement services support to the Foundation, Alumni Relations and the University.  She is responsible for all aspects of systems support including the advancement system, accounting and reporting systems as well as computer operations, PC support, the Foundation and Alumni Relations web presence and online community.  Also under her direction are alumni and donor records and data quality teams.   Terry is past Chair of the Sungard Advance User Group, past chair of the Sungard Product Advisory Group and founding chair of the   Sungard Advance Web Access User Group.  Prior to her position at Rutgers, she worked in Information Technology at a Fortune 100 company.  Her expertise there included data administration, application development and project management.  She is a cum laude graduate of Bryn Mawr College.  From Rutgers University, Terry earned a mini-MBA in Digital Marketing Technology and a Certificate in Leadership Development.

Chris Cannon
Managing Associate, Bentz Whaley Flessner

Christopher Cannon, CFRE, is a managing associate at Bentz Whaley Flessner. Mr. Cannon’s areas of expertise include fundraising systems, operations staffing issues, database management, business intelligence and data reporting, database conversion projects, gift processing and acknowledgement, and technology needs. He has led fundraising operations at Saint Louis University, Saint Louis Zoo, and the Saint Louis Science Center. Bentz Whaley Flessner’s clients have turned to Mr. Cannon for strategic counsel on many database systems.

Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Cannon served as Research and Development Services director at Saint Louis University where he managed an advancement services team of 19, provided leadership for the university’s $300 million campaign, and directed an interdepartmental database conversion team.

Mr. Cannon earned a Master of Arts from The University of Kansas and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Truman State University. He has been a featured speaker at APRA, AFP, and other conferences and has written articles for AFP’s Advancing Philanthropy, APRA’s Connections, and AHP’s Journal.

Caroline S. Chang

Director of Operations, Stanford University

 

Caroline S. Chang is currently Director of Operations for the Office of Development (OOD). She oversees Gift Processing, Biographic Records, Central Files (Imaging). She began her career in development as a phone appeal volunteer, and then became director of student and young alumni development for The Stanford Fund. After five years in The Stanford Fund, which included several changes in responsibilities, she became director of annual giving for the Stanford University Medical Center in February 1995. After two years as annual giving director, she was lured by the call of Operations and the challenges of converting to a client server database. Caroline holds both a bachelor's and master's degree from Stanford University, and an MBA from Santa Clara University.

Thomas Chaves
Senior Director Advancement Services, Lehigh University

Thomas Chaves is the senior director of advancement services at Lehigh University where he is building and leading a dynamic information management environment to support Lehigh's advancement operations. Managing a centralized team in a decentralized environment, Chaves strives to effectively and efficiently use technology, process and people to bring valuable information to Lehigh's advancement team.

Before coming to Lehigh, he spent more than 17 years at SunGard/SCT working with more than 100 Banner clients to implement and effectively use Banner Advancement. He also served as the director of annual giving at Albright College and recently finished a nine-year tenure on Albright College's Alumni Association board, serving as president the last two years.

Chaves chaired the 2010 CASE  Conference for Senior Advancement Services Professionals, is a board member of the Association of Advancement Services Professionals (AASP), and is a member of the Banner Advancement advisory board.

He holds a bachelor's degree from Albright College and a master's degree from Penn State University.

Lisette Clem
Director of Advancement Services, Bryant University, Smithfield, RI

Lisette is the director of advancement services at Bryant University in Smithfield RI, having previously served in a similar capacity at Providence College (Providence RI) for nine years.  Additional multi-faceted contributions to the advancement discipline include roles with the Diocese of Providence in Providence RI, Plan USA (formerly Childreach/Foster Parents Plan) in Warwick RI, and the Greater Woonsocket Catholic Regional School System in RI.  She has presented at Millennium users conferences and currently serves as Chair of the AASP Ethics Committee.  Lisette earned both her M.B.A. (Delta Mu Delta Honor Society) and her B.S.B.A. (Summa Cum Laude) degrees from Bryant University.  Her current professional and volunteer affiliations include serving as President of the United States Naval Academy Parents Club of Central New England (501c3), serving on the Advisory Board of the Little Sisters of the Poor, and serving as a board member and chairing the development committee of the Northern Rhode Island Catholic Youth Organization.  Lisette has experience with the Banner Advancement, Raiser’s Edge and Millennium databases, but most enjoys championing the mission of a nonprofit or educational institution, as well as directing and interacting with advancement operations staff.

Melissa Cox
Programmer Analyst, University of Michigan

Melissa Cox is currently a Programmer Analyst in Development Services and has worked for 4 years at the University of Michigan Office of University Development (OUD). She holds a B.A. from the University of California: Santa Cruz and is currently working towards a Master of Science in Information from U-M’s School of Information, focusing on higher education philanthropy and nonprofit administration. She placed in the final round of a mobile application pitch competition during the 2011 South by Southwest Interactive conference. Melissa is a founding member of the Development Services Customer Service Task Force and Performance Support Program. Additionally, she serves on the Online Design Team for the replacement of U-M’s legacy donor database.

Mary Ehart
Assistant VP, Development Services

The Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia

 

Mary Ehart has worked for non-profits for over 25 years, with Raiser’s Edge for 15 years, and in Development Services for the past 10 years.  She has survived one database conversion and three post-conversion cleanups.

 

Since 2006, Ehart has served the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Foundation, first as Director of Development Services and, since 2009, as Assistant Vice President for Development Services.  In this role she oversees as staff of 14 responsible for all database functions, reporting, gift processing, budgeting, and information management.

 

Her previous assignment was as Director of Development Services at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, from 2001 through 2006.  Before that, she served as Director of Information Technology at the Intercollegiate Studies Institute in Wilmington, Delaware for five years. 

 

Ehart’s interest in data and database management was piqued during the early 1990s, when she worked at the National Adoption Center in Philadelphia.  During that time, the Center was involved in developing the first national database that would match families waiting to adopt with children with special needs hoping for a family.  First available only to social workers, the database eventually became a website, Faces of Adoption, that allowed families approved to adopt to search for their own “matches.”  Along with other NAC staff, Ehart spoke at adoption conferences nationwide, training social workers and families to use what was then a new and unfamiliar technology.

 

A native of the Philadelphia area, she is a graduate of St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, with a B.A. in Philosophy, and has a M.A. in Philosophy from the University of Kent in Canterbury, England.

 

Jay Frost
VP, FundraisingInfo.com

Jay Frost is a 25 year veteran of the world of philanthropy. Over the years, Jay has played a leadership role in a number of companies serving the third sector, including serving as Vice President at FundraisingINFO.com (FRI); Chief Strategy Officer at WealthEngine; and President and CEO at Wealth ID, pioneer in the asset screening and online prospect research business in the United States, which merged with WealthEngine in 2005.  In addition, Jay has also served as Director of Major Gifts at the International Rescue Committee, Editor and Co-Founder of WFC/International Philanthropy, Development Associate at Meridian International Center and as a Program Officer at the National Endowment for the Arts.  As a volunteer and Educator, Jay has been a member of the CASE Industry Advisory Council and a past national board and Metro DC Chapter President of the Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement and a featured speaker at international, national, regional and local conferences and meetings in the US, Europe and Asia.

Meredith Hancks
Director of Prospect Research & Management, Western Illinois University

Meredith Hancks believes in using the power of data to make informed, strategic decisions. She has used analytics in her work with Phonathon and Annual Giving as well as in her current role in Prospect Research and Management at Western Illinois University. She balances her work day between proactive searches for new prospects, reactive requests from frontline fundraising staff, and working closely with programmers to improve fundraising functionality in the database. Meredith holds a BA in K-12 Education and an MBA with a concentration in Nonprofit Leadership & Administration from North Park University in Chicago and is nearing completion of an Ed.D. in Higher Education Administration from the University of Minnesota. Her first book, Getting Started in Prospect Research, is forthcoming from Charity Channel Press.

Keith Heller
Principal, Heller Consulting

Keith Heller is Principal of Heller Consulting, a nation-wide firm that helps nonprofits streamline their operations and maximize their use of software to advance their missions. Before establishing Heller Consulting in 1996, Keith managed information and operations in the development office of The Exploratorium in San Francisco. Taking his know-how for both technology and nonprofit operations, he developed services for organizations using nonprofit software, and has personally worked with hundreds of organizations, large and small. Today, Heller Consulting has 25 employees with offices in San Francisco, Chicago and New York and has helped more than 800 nonprofits.  

Charlie Hunsaker

President, R.I. Arlington

 

Charlie Hunsaker established R I Arlington in 1988 to provide systems consulting to development offices and nonprofit organizations. Services include general audits and reviews, system selection, implementation assistance, A/S organizational improvements, etc.  Working with clients across the United State, over 50% of my work has been in Higher Education including such clients as Brown University, University of Notre Dame, Dartmouth, Penn, and Emory University as well as many state universities and foundations. Other clients have included the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, the American Red Cross, Paralyzed Veterans of America, The Salvation Army, and many others. Charlie has an BS degree in Business from UNC and a MSIS from Penn State University.

Cassie Hunt, CFRE
Senior Associate, Bentz Whaley Flessner

Cassie Hunt, CFRE, is a senior associate in the Washington, DC office of Bentz Whaley Flessner. She serves clients in education, healthcare, and arts and cultural organizations.  Cassie’s areas of focus include assisting clients in improving the effectiveness and efficiency of their operations, assessing and growing their annual giving efforts, and enhancing prospect research and management programs.

Prior to joining the firm, Cassie served as the director of advancement operations at Washington and Lee University, where she led a successful advancement database and online community conversion and expansion, oversaw the implementation of paperless gift processing, and provided leadership for a $500 million capital campaign. Prior to her work in operations, Cassie served as the annual fund director, responsible for all programs including direct mail, phonathons, volunteer management, solicitation, and stewardship.

Cassie earned her Bachelor of Arts from Washington and Lee.  She is a frequent presenter on annual giving and operations topics at CASE, STAFF and  AASP, among others.

Bill Kavan

Vice President of Product Management, SunGard Higher Education

Bill serves as the Vice President of Product Management for SunGard Higher Education’s advancement solutions, determining the future product direction for the Advance Suite, Banner Advancement, and PowerCAMPUS Advancement. Bill collaborates with customers, prospects, industry experts, management, and development to identify, plan, build, and deliver innovative solutions to organizations committed to building strong constituent relations and exceeding their performance goals..

Bill comes to SunGard with a substantial advancement and technology background spanning over18 years, most recently serving as Principal at CedarCrestone, the leading provider of implementation services for PeopleSoft/Oracle in the Higher Education market. Prior to joining the advancement software and services industry, Bill served as a professional advancement staff member at multiple higher education institutions and non-profits.

In addition to his professional advancement and technology experiences, Bill has been an active volunteer and Board Member for various local, national, and international non-profits.  He also served as Chair of the Arizona State University Alumni Association Board of Directors, which represents over 300,000 alumni.  Bill’s extensive volunteer efforts allow him to support non-profit organizations that are important to him and also ensure that his knowledge and perspective of the market in which he works are broad and current.

Bill is an avid fitness enthusiast, art collector, history buff, and proud graduate of Arizona State University.

Monica Keith
Director, Advancement Operations, Washington & Lee University

 Monica is the director of advancement operations at Washington & Lee University. Her tenure in advancement roles include advancement operations and prospect research, and within higher education includes Siena College, Yale University, Green Mountain College and Bennington College. She has presented at APRA International conferences and the Sungard Summit on advancement operations and database management and published an article in APRA Connections.

David Lamb
Senior Consultant,Target Analytics

David Lamb is a Senior Consultant with Target Analytics:  A Blackbaud Company, a provider of custom data modeling and prospect research services.  He has been a prospect researcher since 1989, starting at Santa Clara University.  After taking the Director of Prospect Research position at the University of Washington, he led a team that developed their first prospect management system.  Under his leadership, the prospect research and management staff size there rose from four people to thirteen.  After leaving the University of Washington, he served clients from coast to coast as a freelance prospect research consultant.  David Lamb’s Prospect Research Page (www.lambresearch.com), a trusted and popular resource among prospect researchers.

He holds a bachelor's degree in Sociology from Sterling College (Sterling, Kansas), a master's in Sociology from Wichita State University, and a master's in Divinity from San Francisco Theological Seminary. He is a frequent speaker at professional conferences, including those sponsored by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), The Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), and The Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement (APRA).

Anita Lawson

Director Advancement Services, RAND Corporation

Anita Lawson is the Advancement Services Manager at RAND Corporation in Santa Monica, CA.  RAND has been a nonpartisan, internationally respected think tank focusing on issues that matter most such as health, education, national security, international affairs, law and business, the environment, and more.  Anita is responsible for establishing and leading RAND’s Advancement Services operation.  Prior to RAND, Anita was in Dallas, TX serving as Director of Database Operations at Communities Foundation of Texas responsible for establishing their database operations department and leading the data warehouse implementation.  

Previously, Anita ran development operations at Susan G. Komen For The Cure headquarters in Dallas, TX leading the foundation through its first major database conversion and overseeing Komen’s high volume gift entry, sophisticated tribute gift processing, and donor acknowledgements while managing the development database.  She also served as Director of Advancement Services at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles Foundation and Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA, establishing the advancement services department and leading a database conversion at both organizations.

Anita has been an advancement professional for more than 20 years, has served on the board of CASE IV and is a founding member of AASP.

David Lawson
WorkingPhilanthropy.com

David brings more than 25 years of experience as an social entrepreneur and investor. He is the Co-founder of WorkingPhilanthropy.com, a company providing training and consulting to both nonprofit organizations and the companies that serve them. In the 1980’s he founded The Information Prospector, a firm that profiled philanthropists. In the early 1990’s he was a senior consultant with Thomson Wealth ID. In 1997 David founded Prospect Information Network (P!N) which was sold to Kintera in 2004. David is a Board Member of Affinaquest, and a Partner with TrueGivers. David is a frequent speaker and contributor to trade publications. David is an APRA Distinguished Service Award and CASE Crystal Apple Award for Excellence in Education recipient and a member of APRA and AASP.

Lori Hood Lawson
WorkingPhilanthropy.com

Lori Hood Lawson, CEO and Co-founder of WorkingPhilanthropy.com, has worked virtually as Group Director, Fundraising Intelligence, for DonorTrends and as Director of Strategic Solutions for Kintera P!N. Before joining P!N, she enjoyed the role of Associate Director of Research for The Florida State University Foundation, where she received the Administrator of the Year Award.

Lori is a member of the Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement International (APRA) and has served on the board of the Florida chapter of APRA, most recently as President and Director-At-Large.  She also serves on the AASP Best Practices Committee for Prospect Development.  She holds an MS from The Florida State University School of Communication & Information and a BA from Emory University.  You may find her on Twitter @workinglori.

Steve Maclaughlin
Director Internet Solutions, Blackbaud

Steve MacLaughlin is the Director of Internet Solutions at Blackbaud and is responsible for leading how the company provides online solutions for its clients. He has spent more than 15 years building successful online initiatives with a broad range of Fortune 500 firms, government and educational institutions, and nonprofit organizations. Steve serves on the Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN) Board of Directors and supports its focus on both the growth and professionalism of technology in the nonprofit sector. He is a frequent blogger at www.nptrends.com and writer whose ideas and opinions have appeared in numerous nonprofit sector publications. Steve’s thoughts on leveraging the Internet were published in the books People to People Fundraising and Internet Management for Nonprofits. Steve earned both his undergraduate degree and a Master of Science degree in Interactive Media from Indiana University.

Misty McCarty
Director of Advancement Services, University of New Hampshire

Misty McCarty is the inaugural Director of Advancement Services at the University of New Hampshire.  In this role she is forging an entirely new model of strategic information management and technology infrastructure for the newly formed University Advancement division.  At UNH McCarty's management portfolio includes: Information Systems, Information Technology, Gift and Data Management, and Prospect Research and Management.

McCarty spent the prior 9 years honing her skills in Advancement information resource management, industry policies, and best practices at Tufts University, where she spent 7 years as Director of Advancement Gift and Information Services and Recording Secretary.  As Director of Advancement Gift and Information Services McCarty directly oversaw the implementation and development of Tufts’ alumni and donor management system.  As Recording Secretary she chaired the university's Gift Acceptance Committee, and in this role administered acceptance of all donations to the university; crafted university-wide gift policies and standards for major gifts; and was responsible for state and federal compliance for all charitable giving to the university.

Prior to Tufts, McCarty was an Application Specialist in the Development Office at Dartmouth College, where she was a key analyst in Dartmouth’s conversion to SunGard Advance – providing report design and development, business analysis, desktop support, and delivering hundreds of hours of training sessions on all facets of the software.

 
Vicky Medlock
Associate Vice President for Advancement
Shenandoah University

Vicky Medlock started in advancement as a phonathon caller in 1981. Since then, she has enjoyed rich and diverse program opportunities at the University of Florida, University of Cincinnati, University of South Florida, the National Rifle Association and Shenandoah University where she is the associate vice president for advancement.

Her experience encompasses nearly every facet of advancement, including gift processing, reporting, records, annual giving, donor relations, events, research, alumni affairs, campaign programming, communications, human resources, finance and operations, training, strategic planning and board relations. She is passionate about the role of advancement services providing leadership to the profession and is an enthusiastic advocate for the inclusiveness of advancement services professionals in the decision-making process.

Medlock has been a strong advocate for advancement services for more than 20 years. She received the CASE Crystal Apple in 2003 and currently serves as the vice president for the Association of Advancement Services Professionals.

Anne N. Panter
Director of Major & Planned Giving
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

With twenty years of experience in nonprofit development, Anne N. Panter is a nonprofit professional with broad fundraising and management experience in institutions that require public -private partnerships for future sustainability.  As the former executive director of the Milwaukee Public Library Foundation from 2000-2005, she personally raised at least a million annually in major gifts while developing board leadership and increasing the organization’s capacity. 

In her present role as a Director of Major and Planned Giving at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM), she is part of the management staff that executes fundraising strategies and directs the efforts pf a 19 member development staff.  In the past year this group has worked to successfully complete the University’s first comprehensive campaign raising $125 millionundefinedexceeding all goals and expectations. 

Panter is responsible for raising support for the largest academic unit at the University, the College of Letters & Science along with UWM Libraries.  The UWM Libraries recently completed its largest fundraising endeavor raising $2.2 million in private support to complement a public dollar commitment to renovate the library’s student areas.  The development effort at UWM is a dynamic operation that has had great success in growing its major gifts program, and Panter’s effort has resulted in several important gifts, increased commitments while managing several committed development officers.

Panter is a UWM Graduate and lives in Wisconsin with her husband Bill and three children who span high school and college ages.   She is serves on the Alliance Francaise Milwaukee board of directors, volunteers for her children's high school booster clubs, loves to read (when she can stay awake to do so)  and manages to do 12-15 loads of laundry ( and fold them) on weekends.

Angie Peterson
Associate Director Reporting, University of Michigan

Angie Peterson worked for 6 years as a database manager and report write at the School of Nursing, University of Michigan, before moving into her role 4 years ago as a report writer and business analyst

for Development Services, University of Michigan. She is currently Associate Director of the Reporting team, which does work in a wide variety of tools (Access, SQL Server, mainframe, Business Objects) and for customers from every point on the spectrum of Development work.

Mary Prats
Director of Development Services, University of Miami

Mary Prats, who joined the development profession in 1998, is Director of Development Services at the University of Miami. She supervises a staff of 15 and oversees gift processing and scanning of donor documents for the University, a role she served role during the Univesity’s $1.4B comprehensive campaign. Mary was part of the core team that was instrumental in the advancement database conversion to Raiser’s Edge and continues to be a trainer on external gift processing and financial inquiry to UM staff members. She is a graduate of the Universtiy of Miami with a BA in Accounting.

Stephanie Rasamny
President and Founder,MainSpring Media Communications

Stephanie is the president and founder of MainSpring Media Communications, Inc. She leads the strategic planning, project execution, and oversees MainSpring’s project teams. She created MainSpring to help fundraisers more effectively grow participation and contributions by integrating electronic tools with traditional fundraising methods. Stephanie has been invited to speak on efundraising at many conferences including CASE, the Association of Advancement Services Professionals, Academic Impressions and the Annual Giving Directors’ Consortium. She is also an Industry Trends committee member for the Association of Advancement Services Professionals. Stephanie holds a BA in Economics and Public Policy from Duke University with honors.

Ellen Duero Rohwer, CFRE
Director, JCA

After several years as an energetic and successful fundraiser, including Major Gifts Officer with Catholic Healthcare West, Ellen began consulting in the field of technology and philanthropy operations when her hair was still dark and DOS was hot.  Over a decade years later, Ellen continues to combine love of the fast-paced technology environment with her experience in fund-raising, accounting and non-profit management to serve clients in healthcare, education and other nonprofit areas.  A popular speaker for international and regional conferences including AHP, AFP, CASE, NCPG and many other organizations, she consistently receives positive reviews for her insightful and engaging presentations. 

In addition to her CFRE, Ellen earned a BA from Marquette University, an MA from University of California Santa Barbara, and certification in Capital Campaign Management from the University of Wisconsin Madison School of Business.  Ellen serves on local boards and committees and volunteers with several organizations, in addition to coaching middle-school sports teams. 

Vered Siegel
Information Database Administrator at After School Matters

Vered is the Information Database Administrator at After School Matters a nationally recognized organization that offers innovative out-of-school activities to teenagers in Chicago. She is responsible for knowledge management activity within the development department, including managing the Raiser’s Edge database, coordinating donor tracking and moves management systems, prospect research, financial reporting and risk mitigation.  Previously, she served in this capacity at the Greater Chicago Food Depository, Chicago’s food bank, and Deborah’s Place, Chicago’s only shelter for unaccompanied women. A native Washingtonian, she received her M.S. in Nonprofit Management from Spertus College in Chicago and her B.A. in Bioethics from the University of Illinois.

Outside of work, Vered volunteers as a list manager and solicitation writer for City at Peace DC, is on the board of Chicago Girls in Technology, and is the one-woman Host Committee for AASP. She enjoys attending neighborhood festivals, playing board games and spending time with her dog.

John Taylor
Associate Vice Chancellor for Advancement Services
North Carolina State University

John Taylor is the associate vice chancellor for advancement services at North Carolina State University. Previously, he was the principal for Advancement Solutions Consulting Group, a firm he launched in December 2004 focusing on nonprofit infrastructure issues. He has also served as vice president for research and data services at CASEundefineda position he held from its inception in late 2002. Prior to that, he was the director of alumni and development records at Duke University for nearly 15 years, where he guided advancement services processes to an industry benchmark of efficiency and accuracy.

His published works include: Advancement Services: A Foundation for Fund Raising (2007); CASE Management and Reporting Standards, 3rd edition (2003); Handbook of Institutional Advancement (2000); and Advancement Services: Research and Technology Support for Fund Raising (1999).

Taylor is a frequent contributor to The Major Gift Report and Successful Fundraising, and occasional contributor to the Chronicle of Philanthropy and CURRENTS magazine. He formed one of the largest advancement-related listservs in the world, FundSvcs, now with more than 2,400 subscribers, and a companion website: www.FundSvcs.org. He has spoken at hundreds of conferences across the country, receiving the CASE Crystal Apple Award for outstanding teaching. He is founder and president of the Association of Advancement Services Professionals. He consults for educational institutions, foundations and other nonprofit organizations focusing on the areas of systems, policies and procedures, IRS and accounting regulations, board development, alumni relations and general advancement issues.

He holds a bachelor's degree in mass communications and socio-political change from Vanderbilt University, and a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Duke University.

Jon Thorsen
Director of Advancement Services
The Nature Conservancy

Jon Thorsen is director of advancement services at The Nature Conservancy, where he oversees the areas of Business Information & Analytics, Fundraising Systems, Prospect Development and Prospect Management. A former university librarian and instructor, he joined the development profession in 1987 and has led research and advancement services operations for Princeton University and the American Red Cross.

A former president of the Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement, Thorsen received the association's Distinguished Service Award in 1999. He currently serves as a consultant to the board of directors of the Association of Advancement Services Professionals and chair of that organization's Best Practices committee. He received AASP's Volunteer of the Year award in 2010.

Thorsen has given presentations on many facets of the development profession at conferences for AASP, APRA, ADRP, AFP, CASE and other organizations. His articles on the advancement services profession have appeared in numerous publications, and he has contributed to the books Constituent Relationship Management: The New Little Black Book of Politics and People to People Fundraising: Social Networking and Web 2.0 for Charities.

Susan Vandermast
Assistant Vice President for Advancement Operations
University of South Florida Foundation

Susan Vandermast is the assistant vice president for advancement operations at the University of South Florida Foundation where she manages a team of programmers, data entry staff, desktop support, education and training, and prospect researchers fondly referred to as the Input/Output team.

Vandermast worked in Central Information Technology at Vassar College for 14 years before joining the advancement services team at USF in 1996 to manage a data conversion for development, alumni relations and two foundations from a legacy system to Sungard's BANNER advancement database. While advancement services has adjusted and realigned during the years to support the ever-changing models of centralized, decentralized, hybrid, regional and global fundraising, the one constant for advancement services is rising expectations and limited resources. Using her computer science background, she leverages technology to supplement the resources that help transform the organization's vision into reality.

Lynne Wester
Director of Stewardship and Donor Recognition, Yeshiva University

 In addition to her work duties, Lynne created the website and blog www.donorrelationsguru.com where she shares her expertise on a variety of topics to the greater development world. Previously she served as the associate director of donor relations at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University, where she rebuilt and transformed an entire donor relations program from the ground up. Previously, she worked at Rollins College for four years in varying capacities from development to foundation relations and finally found a home in donor relations.
In addition to her responsibilities as a board member of ADRP and serving as the webmaster and technology coordinator of the ADRP, Lynne is a frequent presenter at conferences, both regionally and nationally. With over 30 different presentations on a wide array of topics, her interests are diverse although some of her specialties include technology, millennial generation donor research, planned giving stewardship, mid level donor programs and practical foundations of donor relations and stewardship. She received her undergraduate degrees from the University of South Carolina and is a loyal gamecock alumni and fan.

Meredeth Winter

Director of Fundraising Systems Specialists,The Nature Conservancy

 

Director of Fundraising Systems Specialists at The Nature Conservancy, having celebrated her tenth anniversary with the organization in 2007.  Before moving into her current role in 2005, she did annual and major gift fundraising for the Maine and New Jersey Chapters of the Conservancy.

 

Meredeth holds a BA from Dartmouth College in French and Russian language and literature, and an MA from Tufts University in Applied Child Development. She is not quite sure how these relate to her career, but is happy to try to make up something if you ask.  She has presented at the Target User Forum (Target Software was recently purchased by Blackbaud) as well as at numerous Conservancy conferences and trainings.